Single piston gas meter



July .27, 1937.

G. KUWADA SINGLE PISTON GAS METER Filed March 51, 71956 2 Shee ts -sheet1 Elma/WM @0771 p L'ffawadoo,

July 27, 1937'. UW DA (2,087,937

SINGLE Ppsfon GAS METER Filed inch 51, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedJuly 27, 1937 Application March 31 1936, Serial No; 71,967

. In Japan Aprilj19,1935 I 1 v 14 Claims. '(Cl. 73-237) This inventionrelates to a single piston gas meter.

The object of my invention is toprovide agas meter in which the primemover is a single pis- 5 ton, designed to avoid'in its construction theusual diaphragm and its inherent source of error. "1

' The presently preferred embodiment of my inventionis shown in theaccompanyingv drawings,

l in'which I Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a single pistongas meter embodying the 'presen't invention and showing the valvemechanism in plan view. I l Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on'line2--2 oiFig.l. I 1

Fig. 3 is avertical sectional view through the valveoperating mechanism,the same being taken substantiallyfoniine 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is anenlarged face view of one of the I cams for actuating the slide valves.

Fig. 5 isa detail sectional view showing the manner in which thes'lidevalve-actuating lugs are secured to the valve rods.-

1 Fig. 6 is a plan view of .theend of one of the 'valve rods whichcarriesthe actuating lug. 1 Fig. '7 is a side view showing thejoperativeconpection between a part of the register-actuating mechanism and thebell rod.

3o Fig. 8 is averticalsectional view on line 8 -8 ofFig. 7, and. r Fig.9 is a plan view of theparts shown in Fig. 7.

- In the drawings, a gas-receiving. hell I has 2 a rod 2 extendingupwardly therefrom and guided in its vertical movement by a bracket 3.At an intermediate point the rod 2 carries'a pivoted crossheadfi whichhas a bore 4'. The cross- I 1 head 4 is provided with journals on itsopposite sides which are received in hearings in the sides of a boxformed by an enlargement "onthe bell .rod 2. .The bore 4 extends atright angles to the I journals about which the crossheadfipivots andreceives one end of av pivoted lever- 5 having an extension 6 forsupporting a counterweight I for the bell I. 1

The upper portion of the bell rod has a bracket 8 rigidly securedthereto. ,At opposite sides the bracket 8 carries cam,blocks Q'and l0for actuating slide valves I l .and I2 which re- 7 spectivelycontrol theadmission of. gas to and its exhaust i'romthe meter. Each cam block hasa cam groove I3 for receiving lugs "ll rigidly se-, curedto rods I5'andI for actuating, the gas -the vertical corresponding tothe curve at thecams.

tends downwardly and then upwardly and has an and side ports similar tothe valvebody. A gas admission and exhaust valves H and l2;,respectively. As'shown in Fig. 4, the cam grooves I3 are generally ovalin shape, as are also the'lugs I4. In order that the lugs I4 will travelupwardly 5 on one side and downwardly on the other side of the ovalgroove and thereby impart reciprocatory motion -to the slide valves IIand I2 as the cams rise and fall; they are set at an angle to upperandlower parts of the oval grooves of the The angle at which the lugs I4are set is toward the righto'n the admission valve side, (Fig. 4) andtoward the left on the exhaust valve side.

To rigidly securethe lugs I4 in their preferred angular position,eachlug, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, is provided with a shank I! which isreceived within its respective valve rod, and, a I threaded stud l8 forreceiving a nut. I9. The

shanks I] carry pins 20 which fit into slots 2| in. 20

one side of the valve rods and hold the lug-in proper angular positionwith respect to the oval grooves I3. I

The oval grooves I3 areso'dirnensioned that.

, their major axis is equal to the length of the stroke of the bell Iand its rod 2,-and its minor axis is equal to the length of the strokewhich the slide valves ll andl2 are to have.

Each cam blockisf providedwith upper and lower curved slots 22 and 23which open into the 30 oval grooves l3. Curved fiat springs 24 and 25have one end secured in the slots 22 and 23. The major portion of thesprings 24 and 25 extend into the oval grooves. As shown in Fig. 4, thesprings are of sufficient length to extend substantially the entirelength of the groove, and

their free ends are so curvedlwith respect to the'groove that whenthelugs reach the upper or lower extremities of the groove, the curved freeends of the springs will snap them sidewise into 40 the opposite side ofthe groove.

Theslide valve ll cooperates with an admission valve body 26 havingaseat over which the valve slides.

I The valve body 26 has a central port 21 and side ports 28 and 29. Thecen- .4 tral .port 21 communicates with a. pipe 30 which supplies gasfrom the" usual gas mains. The

port 28 communicates with a pipe 3| which exopen end communicating withthe space inside 0 the bell I. The port 29- opens into the; space abovethe bell I. 'I'heslide valve [2 cooperates with an exhaust valve body 32having a central exhaust pipe 33 leads from the center port while oneside port communicates with the pipe 3| leading to the space within thebell I, and the other side port opens into the space above the bell.

The valve rods l5 and I6 are provided with threaded portions l5 and I9,respectively, which pass through lugs H' and 12', respectively, formedon the top of the slide valves II and I2. Adjustment nuts are threadedonto the threaded portions of the valve rods at opposite sides of thelugs, so that the position of the valves l I and I2 may readily beadjusted with respect' the valve bodies 26 and 32, respectively.

The bell l is mounted for vertical movement in an oil seal container 34,the top 35 of which has an opening 36, so that when the bell rises, gaswithin the oil container may be forced through the opening 36 into themain portion of the gastight meter casing 31. An amount of oil suffcient to keep the lower end of the bell l submerged at all times ismaintained in the bottom of the container 34.

The oil seal container 34 is so shaped that its bottom is raised up inthe form of an inverted cup to correspond to the inside of the bell I,and the top is drawn down, like the neck of an inverted bottle, aroundthe central opening 35, to prevent the flow of the sealing oil to theoutside of the container, in case themeter should accidentally be tiltedor inverted.

Even though relatively heavy oil is used as the sealing medium, a smallamount might, after an extended period of use, be carried over with thepassing gas. However, such passing over of a small quantity of the oilwill not afiect the measuring capacity of the meter, as the displacementis determined by the fixed length of the stroke of the bell.

The meters will of course be installed with the inlet to the gasadmission valve body 26, and the outlet from the gas exhaust body 32,but should anyone unauthorizedly and for improper purposes reverse theconnections, the meter will not pass gas, because when the bell is atthe limit of its downward stroke, the relative position of the slidevalve II to the admission valve body 26 is such that due to the positionof the bell, no gas can be exhausted from below the bell through thecentral port 21 and the pipe 39. Thus, the possibility of running themeter in reverse after a certain amount has been registered on theregister, is precluded.

The pivoted lever 5 is rigidly secured to an axle 38, mounted in abracket 39. A crank 49 is rigidly secured to one end of, the axle andthrough a connecting link 4| and a pawl 42, mounted upon a pivoted lever43, operates a ratchet wheel 44, of a counter 45, visible through awindow 46 of the meter casing. The lever 43 has its fulcrum on the-axisof the ratchet wheel The operation of my invention is as follows:

Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thatis, with the admission slide valve H movedto the extreme left so thatgas from the gas inlet pipe 39 communicates, through the cen port 2? andside port 23, with the pipe 3|, and the bell is rising. As the bellcontinues to rise, the cam block 3 will continue alsoto rise until thelug l4 is in the lower portion of the oval groove [3. Simultaneouslywith the rising of the bell and the cam block 9, the

lug l4, the rod l5 and the admission slide valve H, were being moved bythe cam groove, to the right, that is, to a position such that the valveII will cut off communication between the gas inlet pipe' 39 and thepipe 3| leading to the space beneath the bell, and establishcommunication between the gas inlet pipe 39 and the space above thebell. The movement of the valve II with respect to the ports 21, 28, and29 is so correlated with respect to the shape of the cam groove, that.just before the valve ll moves to the right suiliciently to out offcommunication between the central port and the port 28, the lug 14reaches the lowermost part of the groove l3, and the free end of thespring 24 snaps the lug to the right sufliciently to throw it into theright-hand side of the groove l3. Simultaneously, the valve I! also wasmoved past its dead-center position with respect to the side ports 28and 29, and to that position in which communication is establishedbetween the central port 21 and the side port 29. Gas from the inletmain 39 then flows into the space above the bell I and creates apressure sufficient to force the bell and cam downwardly until thevalve-actuating lug" I4 is in the uppermost part of the groove l3, andvalve H is just about to out "off communication between the cencenterposition and again establish communication between the gas inlet pipeand the space beneath the bell.

The operation of the valve I2 is the same as that of the valve ll,except that they move in opposite directions; that is, while the lug foroperating the slide valve rod I5 of the admission valve-is operating inthe lefthand groove of the cam, the lug for the slide valve rod 18 ofthe exhaust valve will, be operating in the right-hand groove of thecam. Thus, when the valve ll moves to its right-hand position to admitgas into the space above the bed, valve I2 will move to the left, andthe gas beneath the bell is forced back through pipe 3| and through theleft-side port and central port of the valve body 32, to the gas exhaustpipe 33. In like manner, when the valve ll again moves to the positionshown in Fig. 2,-and the hell i is rising under the pressure of the gasfrom the supply main, gas in the space above the bell is forced throughthe right side port and central port of the valve body 32 to the gasexhaust pipe 33. In that way, gas is admitted alternately inside andoutside of the bell, thus permitting a continuous flow of gas throughthe meter. I

As the bell rises and falls during operation of the meter, the lever 5and the axle on which it is mounted will be oscillated, and the pawl :42caused to rotate the ratchet wheel 44, to register on the counter 45 theexact amount of gas passing through the meter.

, The invention has been illustrated and described in connection with apreferred embodiment thereof, but it is to be understood that the sameis not limited to the embodiment shown, and that various changes withinthe scope of the appended claims may be made without departing from thespirit of the intention,

I claim:

1. A single-piston gas meter comprising an actuating member reciprocableby gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable by said member, agas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gas underpressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of grooved cams movable by saidrod,

means for passing gas from said gas admission valve alternately toopposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocate the same, areciprocatory valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve, areciprocatory valve-actuating rod for said gas admission valve adaptedto operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to oneside or the other of said actuating member, means actuatedby one of saidcams for reciprocating the gas exhaust valve actuating rod, meansactuated by the other of said cams for reciproeating the gas, admissionvalveactuating rod, means operable when said valve rods approach eitherof their end positions for imparting movement to said valve rodsindependently of "said cams, an indicator, a crosshead carried by thecam-actuating rod, and means operated by said cross head as the camactuating rod reciprocates' for actuating said'indicator. I l

2. A single-piston gas meter comprising an actuating member reciprocableby gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable-by said member, agas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gas underpressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of grooved cams movable by saidrod, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately ,toopposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocate the same, areciprocatory. valve-actuating rod" for the gas exhaust valve, areciprocatory valve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adaptedto operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to oneside or the other of said actuating member, a lug carried by theactuating rod for the gas-admission valve and positioned'in the grooveof one cam for actuating said admissionvalve-actuating rod, a lugcarried by the actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve and positioned inthe groove of the other camfor operating said exhaust-valve-actuatingrod, each of said lugs being oval inform and set at an angle tothevertical corresponding to the curve at the ends of the cam grooves, andmeans operable when said valve rods approach either of their endpositions for imparting movement to said valve rods independently ofsaid cams.

3. A single-piston gas meter comprising an I actuating memberreciprocable by gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable by saidmember, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gasunder pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of grooved cams movable bysaid rod, means for passing gas from, said gas admission valvealternately 'to opposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocatethe same, a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve,a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adaptedto operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas tobe passed to onesideor the other of said actuating memher, a lug carried by theactuating rod for the gas-admission valve and positioned in-the grooveof one cam for actuating said admission-valveactuating rod, a lugcarried by the actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve and positioned inthe groove of the ,other cam for operating said exhaust-valve-actuatingrod, each of said lugs being oval in formarid set at an angle to thevertical corresponding to the curve at the ends 'ofthe cam grooves andspring means operable when said valve rods approach either of their endpositions for imparting movement to said valve a cam-actuating rodmovable by' said member, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connectedto a source of gas under pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair ofgrooved cams movableby said rod, means for passing gas from saidgas-admission valve alternately to opposite sides of said actuatingmember-to reciprocate the same, a reciprocato'ry valve-actuating rod forthe gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for saidgas-admission valve adapted to operate said gas-admission valve to causegas to be passed to one side or the other of said actuating member, alug carried by the actuatingrod for the gasadmission valve andpositioned in the groove of one cam for actuating saidadmission-valveactuating rod, a lug carried by the actuating rod for thegas exhaust valveand positioned in the groove of the other cam foroperating said exhaust-valve-actuating rod, each of .said lugs beingoval inform and set at an angle to the vertical corresponding to thecurve at the ends of the cam grooves, and fiat leaf springs positionedin the grooves of each of said cams for imparting movement to therespective valve rods when they approach either of their end positions.

5. A single pistongas meter comprising abell,

a bell rod fixed to said bell, a bracket fixed to said i bell rod, apair of cams carried by said bracket, a gas-admission valve body, agas-exhaust valve body, a slide valve for controlling the passage ofgasthrough each of said valve bodies, a, valve rod for each-of saidslide valves, said valve rods being operable by said cams, a conduitconnecting said valve bodies to the space beneath said bell, means forpassing gas from said gas admission valve alternately to the space abovesaid bell, and through said conduit to the space beneath said bell toimpart a reciprocatory movement to said bell, the gas beneath saidbell'being forced back through said conduit to the gasexhaust valve bodywhen said bell descends,

spring means for imparting movement to said valve rods when theyapproach either of their end positions, a crosshead carried by said bellrod, a lever actuated by said crosshead as said bell reciprocates,anindicator, and means operated by said lever for actuating saidindicator.

6. A single piston gas meter comprising a reciprocatory'bell, an oilseal container in which said bell reciprocates, a bell rod fixed to said0 bell, a crosshead carriedby said bell rod, a lever operable by saidcrosshead as the bell recipro- ,necting said valve bodies to, the spacebeneath said bell, the gas from the gas-admission valve body passingalternately to the space above said bell and through said conduit to thespace beneath said bell, to reciprocate the bell, the gas beneath saidbell being forced back through said conduit to the gas-exhaust valvebody when the bell descends, each of said valve rods having lugs securedthereto and extending into the grooves in the respective cams, said lugsbeing oval in form and set at an angle 'to thevertical corresponding tothe curve at the upper and lower extremes of the oval grooves, andcurved fiat springs in said oval grooves for imparting movement to saidvalve rods independently of said cams when said valve rods approacheither of their end positions.

7. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, an oil-seal containerfor said bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a lever, a counterweightconnected to said lever for balancing the bell, cams having generallyoval-shaped grooves carried by said bell rod, lugs and valve rodsactuated by said grooved cams, a pair of slide valves connected to saidvalve rods, one for gas admission and the other for gas exhaust, anadmission valve seat, an exhaust valve seat, a passage tube connectingthe valve-seat ports to the space beneath said bell, and a crossheadconsisting of a box formed by an enlargement on the bell rod and a blockmounted in said box and freely journaled on opposite sides of the box,said block having a bore through which said lever freely passes.

8. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, an oil-seal containerfor said bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a crosshead on said bellrod, a lever connected to said crosshead, a counterweight connected tosaid lever for balancing said bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod,cams having gen erally oval-shaped grooves carried by said bracket, lugspositioned in said grooves and actuated by movement of said cams, meansfor moving said lugs into alternate sides of said grooves as theyapproach the ends of the grooves, valve rods connected to said lugs andactuated thereby, slide valves connected to said valve rods, one for gasadmission and the other for gas exhaust, an ad mission valve seat, anexhaust valve seat, a passage tube connecting the valve seat ports tothe space beneath said bell, the major axis of the grooves in said camsequalling the length of the stroke of the bell and the minor axis ofsaid grooves equalling the length of the stroke of the slide valves.

9. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, an oil-seal containerfor said bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a crosshead on said bellrod, a lever connected to said crosshead, a counterweight connected tosaid lever for balancing said bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod,cams having generally oval-shaped grooves carried by said bracket, lugspositioned in said grooves and actuated by movement of said cams, meansfor moving said lugs into alternate sides of said grooves as theyapproach the ends of the grooves, valve rods connected to said lugs andactuated thereby, slide valves connected to said valve rods, one for gasadmission and the other forges exhaust, an admission valve seat, anexhaust valve seat, a passage tube connecting the valve seat ports tothe space beneath said bell, each of said valve seats being providedwith three ports, a central and two side ports, one of each of the sideports of each valve seat being connected to the tube leading to thespace beneath the bell, the other side port of each valve seat openingto the space above the bell and the central ports being connected to agas admission passage and to a gas exhaust passage, the major axis ofthe grooves in said cams equalling the length of the stroke of the belland the minor axis of said grooves equalling the length of the stroke ofthe slide.

valves.

10. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell,

an oil-seal container for said bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, acrosshead on said bell rod, a lever connected to said cross-head, acounterweight connected to said lever for balancing said bell, a bracketfixed to said bell rod, cams having generally oval-shaped groovescarried by said bracket, lugs positioned in said grooves and actuated bymovement of said cams, means for moving said lugs into alternate sidesof said grooves as they approach the ends of the grooves, valve rodsconnected to said lugs and actuated thereby, slide valves connected tosaid valve rods,one for gas admission and the other for gas exhaust, anadmission valve seat, an exhaust valve seat, a passage tube connectingthe valve seat ports to the space beneath said bell, the major axis ofthe grooves in said cams equalling the length of the stroke of the belland the minor axis of said grooves equalling the length of the stroke ofthe slide valves, the top of the oil-seal container being open at itsmiddle and drawn down like a neck of an inverted bottle and the bottombeing raised up in the form of an inverted cup.

11. A single piston gas meter comprising an actuating memberreciprocable by gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable by saidmember, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gasunder pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of cams having generallyoval-shaped grooves mounted at opposite sides of said rod and movabletherewith, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valvealternately to opposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocatethe same, a valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve, avalve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adapted to operate saidgas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to one side or the otherof said actuating member, the actuating rod for the gas-admission valvehaving a lug extending into the groove of one of said cams, theactuating rod for the gas exhaust valve having a lug extending into-thegroove of the other of said cams, whereby said. valve rods arereciprocated as said cams reciprocate during movement of said actuatingmember, said valve rods during operation of the meter being actuated inopposite directions, and means for moving the lugs of said valve rodsinto alternate sides of said grooves as they approach the ends thereof.

12. A single piston gas meter comprising an actuating memberreciprocable by gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable by saidmember, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gasunder pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of cams havinggenerally'ovalshaped grooves mounted at opposite sides of said rod andmovable therewith, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valvealternately to opposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocatethe same, a valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve, avalve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adapted to operate saidgas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to one side or the otherof said actuating member, the actuating rod for the gas-admission valvehaving'a lug extending into the groove of one of said cams, theactuating rod for the gas exhaust valve having a lug extending into thegroove of the other of said cams, whereby said valve rods arereciprocated as said cams reciprocate during movement of said actuatingmemher, said valve rods during operation of the meter being actuated inopposite directions, means for moving the lugs of said valve rods intoalternate sides of said grooves as they approach the ends thereof, anindicator, and means operable by the reciprocation of said cam-actuatingrod for operating said indicator.

13. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, a bell rod fixed tosaid bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod, a pair of grooved camscarried by said bracket at oppositesides thereof, a gas-admis sionvalve, a gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory rod for actuating each-ofsaid valves, said valve 7 rods being operated respectively by said cams,

a conduit connecting said valves to the space beneath said b'ell, meansfor passing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately to the spaceabove said bell and through said conduit to the space beneath said bellto impart a reciprocatory movement to said bell, the gas beneath saidbell being forced back through said conduit to the gas-exhaust valveasthe bell descends, the actuating rod for the gas-admission valve havinga lug extending into the groove of one of said cams: the actuating rod.for the gas-exhaust valve having a lug extending into the groove of theother'of said cams, whereby said valve rods are reciprocated as saidcams reciprocate during movement of said bell, said valve rods duringoperation of the meter being actuated in opposite directions, and meansfor moving the lugs and said valve'rods into alternate sides ofsaidgrooves as they approachthe ends thereof.

14. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, a bell rod fixed tosaid bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod, a pair of grooved camscarried by said bracket at opposite sides thereof, a gasadmission valve,a gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory rod for actuating each of saidvalves, said valve rods being operated respectively by said cams, aconduit connecting said valves to the space beneath said bell, means forpassing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately to the space abovesaid bell and through said conduit to the space beneath said bell toimpart a reciprocatory movement to said bell, the, gas be neath saidbell being forced back through said v said grooves as they approach theends thereof.

GO PEI KUWADA.

the lugs of said valve rods into alternate sides of

